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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Send Me A Light
02. Cast Away
03. Lost
04. Realm Of Fantasy
05. Pharaoah's Repentance
06. Winternight
07. State Of Suspense
08. Lemuria
09. Last Shut Of Your Eyes
10. Lost (Video Clip)
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Austrian symphonic metallers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS have been around since August of 2000, banding together because of their mutual interest in the concept of Atlantis, and their desire to tell this story. With the addition of female operatic vocalist Nicole Bogner, the band embarked on its quest, blending stories of myths, tales, and love to create their first album "Eternal Endless Infinity". Then tours with KATATONIA, FINNTROLL, and NIGHTWISH followed, until during the summer of 2003 when Mario Plank (vocals) and Miro Holly (synthesizers) joined the ranks and the new VISIONS OF ATLANTIS was born.
Now, those of you that were around in the 70's will no doubt remember a musical genre called 'corporate' or 'arena' rock. It was rock music that was slick, safe and very radio friendly with bands like, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, JOURNEY, and FOREIGNER wearing this tag. Heavy and hard rock fans dismissed these bands as glossy and sell-outs...and sell-outs they were. They sold out almost all of the arenas and stadiums around the world during their heyday. Along the way, these bands also managed to sell an awful lot of albums, which is something that no hard rock or metal band would turn down. It could be said that you can't argue with success, whether or not you considered these bands to actually be 'rock bands'.
One of the points that hard rock fans did have correct was that the music created by the arena rock bands seldom had soul. There was grit...no oomph behind the music. It was catchy, but formulaic. VISIONS OF ATLANTIS would sort of fit into this genre today. With their second release, entitled "Cast Away", the band have created an album of slick, calculated rock that is very safe, and a little conservative. All of the performances on the album are good, but it would have been nice to hear the band at least take some chances. There's no denying each band member is a solid musician, but they do seem to be following a tried and true formula. With names like EVANESCENCE selling a lot of albums these days, you knew it was only a matter of time before more of these types of acts showed up on the scene. In order to stand out from this extremely crowded genre, taking chances are a must.
As I mentioned earlier, the new album "Cast Away" does have nice songs, and is well performed and produced. However, there is very little heart or soul to be found here. This disc is about as glossy as they come and is really lacking that 'oomph'. All of the songs here are similar and interchangeable, with a couple notable exceptions. The title track is a rather catchy rocker that works well on most of the points. I really like the way the vocalists simply sing together without trying to outdo each other. The other exception is "Winternight", a painfully slow, and rather dull ballad. It just does not work. There is nothing in this song that would make you want to keep listening to it the whole way through. Again, Bogner's voice is nice, but the song has no personality to it.
It's just there. This is a symphonic keyboard-heavy album with very little guitar and there is no contrast between the Plank's clean male vocals and Bogner's operatic female vocals. Everything on this disc is just 'clean'. Nine songs that are very similar...hmmm...not a very interesting listen, in my opinion.
The video for "Lost" is included on this disc. However, like most of the album, it's too 'safe' and formulaic (man, this word just really describes the band to a 'T'). I could have been watching a video by any number of bands, and wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. I just had the overwhelming feeling that I've seen this before...numerous times. You know the type...the girl (Nicole) isolated from the band, looking lost and forlorn (hmmm...very much like EVANESCENCE isn't it?), while the guy (Mario) sings as the non-descript band members play in the background. Then, at the end, the girl joins in and they sing together. Um...yeah. The video does look better than a lot of rock videos, but that doesn't mean it's good.
So, at the end of the day, "Cast Away" is a nice, friendly album. Is it today's version of 'arena rock'? Yeah, I think so. It's glossy, slick, and nicely packaged, and given the right exposure, the band could probably do very well with this album. If you are tired of the dreariness of EVANESCENCE and are looking for something a little more upbeat, then VISIONS OF ATLANTIS' "Cast Away" might be an alternative for you. If, on the other hand, you're looking for something heavy, then my advice is to pass it on. Its glossy, radio-friendly tunes won't appeal to you. Now, where did I put that NIGHTWISH album?
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